Automatic electric railway switching device.



No. 888,929. PATENTEb MAY 26, 1908.

. FMM. RICE & A. w. HILL. AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC RAILWAY SWITCHING DEVICE;

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mvw a NYE N T095 ARTHUR W. HILL,

A TTORNEYS a a w w m. H u w 0 c n E 1 E P m R R a. N E H 1 No. 888,929.v PATENTED MAY 26, 1908.

. F. M. RICE & A. W. HILL.

AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC RAILWAY SWITGHING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19,1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES?" #54 /NVENT0fi5 RRNCIS ICE ARTHUR W. HILL,

BY W ATTOH/VE K? In: NORRIS PETERS co., WASHINGTON, n. c.

No. 888,929. v PATENTED MAY 26, 1908.. F. M. RICE & A. W. HILL.AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC RAILWAY SWITCHING DEVICE.

P N r PT. 1 A PLIOATIO ILEI) SE 9 1907 3 SHEETS SHEET 3 WITNESSES M RINVEN7'0H5 j RRNCIS 10E ARTHUR W. HILL, g' mg M A TTORNE XS UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS M. RICE, OF DOWS, AND ARTHUR W. HILL, OF BELMOND, IOWA.

AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC RAILWAY SWITCHING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May '26, 1908.

Application filed September 19, 1907. Serial No. 393,711.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANoIs M. RICE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dows, in the county of fright and State of Iowa, and ARTHURW. HILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Belmond, in thecounty of Wright and State of Iowa,'have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Automatic Electric Railway Switching Devices, of whichthe following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an automatic electric railway switching device,designed more particularly for trolley lines, but applicable also toother uses.

Electro-mechanical devices have already been applied to a car whichthrough the adjustment of a crank handle, by the motorman, projected apowerful electro-magnet into such relation to the switch tongue in thetrack as to move it laterally to open the switch and turn the car outupon a siding, or on to a branch line, an example of this being shown inthe patent to E. J. Rice, No. 850,604, April 16, 1907. In such switchoperating device the switch when opened is left open after the car haspassed on to the siding or branch line, leaving a dangerous condition inthe main line of an open switch which prevents through travel on themain line and involves the danger of collision as well as anembarrassment of trailic.

Our invention is an improvement upon this switch operating device andits object is to secure the automatic closing of the switch after thecar has passed on to the siding or branch line.

To this end our invention consists in novel electro mechanical deviceswhereby the switch opening devices at the front end of the car areconnected to switch closing de-' vices located on the rear end of thecar, both being so coordinately related that the adjustment of the oneset of devices for opening the switch simultaneously and by the samemovement brings into proper position the switch closing devices at therear end of the car, so that the car passes on to the siding and inleaving the main line immediately restores in an automatic manner itscontinuity for through travel. Several different forms of mechanism foraccomplishing these results are provided which will be hereinafter morefully described with reference to the drawings, in which Figure 1 is aplan view of a switch and track rails showing in diagrammatic positionthe truck and electro-magnets of the car in the act of entering theswitch. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the platform of a car, partly brokenaway at the ends and showing its attachments in position for switching.Fig. 2 is a fragmental view of one end of the same, showing theattachments in the neutral position. Fig. 3 is an end view of the switchopening devices at the forward end of the car. Fig. 4 is a similar viewof the switch closing devices at the rear end of the car. Fig. 5 is adetail in perspective of the circuit closing devices. Fig. 6 is aninverted plan view, showing a modification of the switch operating.devices. Fig. 6 is an enlarged end view of the devices vshown in Fig.6. Fig. 7 is an end view showing a still further modification and Fig. 7a is a track, illustrating the operation of the form of the device shownin Fig. 7.

Referring to Fig. 1, A A represent the rails of the main line and B Bthe rails of a branch line or siding.

C is a switch tongue pivoted on a vertical axis at p and arranged to beswung horizontally about the same either in the direction of the fullline arrow a or the dotted line arrow a. When-thrown in the direction ofthe full line arrow (1, as shown in full lines, the switch is open andconnects the right hand part of the main line A A with the siding orbranch rails B B and when thrown in the direction of the dotted linearrow a it makes a continuous connection of the right hand rails of themain line with the left hand rails of the main line, connecting the mainline for through travel.

D represents the front and D the rear trucks of a car, which car carriesat its forward end, some distance in front of the front trucks, twoelectro-magnets E E, and also carries in rear of the rear trucks twoother electro-magnets E E. These electro-magnets are suspended beneaththe car and are connected to it by hanger bars, as hereafter described,and are capable of adjustment transversely across the rails, so as tooccupy a position outside of the rails or inside of the rails, or in avertical plane immediately above the rails. Said electro-magnets extenddown to close proximity to the rails so as to be within the range ofattractive influence on the switch tongue C, and they throw said switchtongue horizontally in the direction of the full arrow (1, or dottedarrow a, according tolthe position of the electro-magnet. If theelectro-magnet is inside the tongue 0, it throws'it in the direction ofthe full line arrow (1, and if the electro-magnet is outside the tongue0, it throws thev tongue in the direction of the dotted arrow a. Toavoid, confusion, we have, in Fig. 1, only shown the electro-magnetsdiagrammatically, to indicate their position. It will also be perceivedthat we have shown two front electroem'agnets E E and two rearelectromagnets E" E". The purpose of this duplication is merely toprovide for sidings or branch lines on either side of the main line, orto permit the car to be run either forward or backward and still operatethe switch. For the purposes of illustrating our invention itv will besufiicient to consider only one front and one rear electro-magnet on thesame side of the, car, as these two are the cooperating ones forswitching on one side of the main line. So far as the action of thefront electro-magnets are concerned these are used for opening theswitch and have already been employed. It will be seen, however, that ifthe switch 0 is-opened in the direction of the full arrow'a by thepassage of the front electro-m'agnets, and the switch is not closedafterwards, the main line will be left open,- with results that would beembarrassing, or even disastrous.

Our invention provides the rear electromagnets E E and so connects themwith the operating mechanism of the front electro magnets, as hereafterdescribed, as to not only automatically open the switch and turn the caron to the siding, as has been heretofore done,,but also immediately,when leaving the switch, to close it again behind the car and restorethe continuity of the main line. The means by which this is accomplishedwill now be described.

Referring to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, X represents the floor of a car. On theforward end of the same is arranged, see Fig. 3', a vertical manuall'yoperated shifting shaft F'having at the upper end a crank handle f forrocking the same and having at its lower end, beneath the car floor, acrank g connected to a sectional cross bar G which cross bar is pivotedto and connects the two hanger bars H H carr ing on their lower ends thefront pair of e ectro-magnets E E. The vertical operating shaft F risesabove thecar floor to a convenient position for the motorman to operatethe handle f and the upper end of such shaft is arranged to turn freelyin bearings in an upright frame f, and three stop seats 8 s s arerovided for holding the crank handle in its right osition, its leftposition, or in neutral position between the two.

At the rear end of the car, Figs. 2 and 4, the electro-magnets E" E aresimilarly connected by a pivoted cross bar G and the cross bar isconnected to a crank arm 9 on the' 10WerlendiofialshortzverticalLshaftlFturning in bearings in the car floor This shaft F may extend only to thecar floor as shown, or it may go above the same and be equipped with thesame crank handle and other devices for its manual operation if desired.As cars are usually run with the motorman always at the same end, it isnot necessary to have the second operating handle in the rear.

The two sets of adjusting devices for the front and rear electro-magnetsare simultaneously connected and operated as follows. A long slide rod Jextends longitudinally beneath the car floor from end to end. At one endit is pivotally connected to a horizontal and transversely arrangedlever K fulcrumed to an offset from the body of the car, and at theother end it is pivotally connected to a similar lever K. The other endof lever K is connected by a link to a rigid crank armi on the operatingshaft F, and the corresponding end of lever K, at the other end of thecar, is connected by a link 3" to a rigid crank arm 1' on the verticalshaft F. This fur' nishes mechanical means whereby the swinging of thefront electro magnets to one side of the track will simultaneously, andby the same movement, swing the rear set of electromagnets to the otherside of the track.

Assuming that the car shown in Fig. 2 is going to the left, when themanually operated shaft F is turned to throw the front electromagnets EE, to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, this same movement alsothrows the rear electro-magnets to the position shown in- Figs. 2 and 4and these positions of the front and rear electro-magnets are the sameas those shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1, in which the frontelectro-magnets have pulled the switch tongue in the direction of fullline arrow a and have sent the front trucks D on to the siding andinwhich the "position of the rear electro-magnet E is ready to pull theswitch tongue in the direction of the dotted arrow at when it reachesthe switch, so as to automatically close the main line for throughtravel. a

When an electro-magnet exerts its pull upon the switch tongue it has atendency to lift said tongue as well as move it sidewise. This liftingof this tongue is prevented by a cross bar 0, Fig. 1 which is fixed tothe tongue C on its lower side and moves with it, and

the ends of which cross bar slide under the.

tem or the underground system, it being only necessary to place theoperating circuit hereafter described any where within the path of themotor circuit or the circuit of a storage battery.

In Fig. 2 the current comes (from the trolley for instance) to the point1 and thence by wire 2 to a double contact 3. 3. between the two arms ofwhich plays the stem h on the horizontally adjustable cross bar G. Fromcross bar G a wire 4 leads to the coil of one electro-magnet E andthence by wire 5 to the coil of the other electro-magnet E, thence bywire 6 to the other end of the car and through electro-magnet E and wire7 to the other electro-magnet E and by wire 8 to the car wheel where itis grounded through the rail. It will be seen therefore in any eX- trememovement of the cross bar G to either the right or left the contact armit will touch one side or the other of the double contact 3 and completethe circuit through the above named path, energizing the electro--magnets by the same movement which adjusts them to the osition forswitching. When the crank han lef, Fig. 3, is adjusted to the middleseat 8 then the contact arm h is midway between the two contacts 33 anddoes not touch either, as seen in Fig. 2 and the current is thereforebroken and the magnets are not ener ized. In this neutral position ofparts the lectro-magnets lie in a vertical plane immediately above themain rails and produce no effect on the switches.

It will be understood that the electromagnets are to be constructed withsuch size of wire, number of coils and length of cores, as to suit thevoltage of the lines and to furnish a sufficient moving power topositively and surely adjust the switch.

In the form of our invention so far described, the lateral shifting ofthe electromagnets is a manual operation, the shifting being done by thestrength of the motormans arm transmitted mechanically. As amodification of our invention, we may effect the swing of theelectro-magnets by electric power by the mere adjustment of an electricswitch as shown in Figs. 6 and 6 In this case the adjusting cross bar Gfor the electromagnets has an armature N playing between the poles oftwo powerful electro-magnets M and M, as seen in Fig. 6, theelectro-magnets M M being in the same circuit with the switch shiftingelectro-magnets E E. The connections are made as seen in' Fig. 6. Whenthe switch arm 0 is on the contact n current flows through wire 10,magnet M, wire 11, magnet E, wire 12, to the opposite end and oppositeside of the car, to magnet M Wire 13, magnet E and the car wheel toground. The magnets M and M are thereby energized and M pulls theelectro-magnets E at the front of the car to one side, while M at therear of the car, pulls the electro-magnet E in the opposite direction.If the switch 0 be placed upon the contact in the electro-magnets E, Mand E M are ener gized, and when the switch is in the neutral position,as shown in Fig. 6, none of the electro-magnets are energized.

As a still further modification of our invention we may dispense withthe movement of the electro-magnets E and E altogether, and make theswitch adjusting magnets stationary, as shown in Figs. 7 and 7".

When the stationary electro-magnets are used, they are fixed under thecar in a rigid frame, see Fig. 7, composed of hanger bars R R and across bar Q firmly braced to resist the pull of the magnets. The frontelectromagnets E are permanently arranged inside the rails, as shown inFigs. 7 and 7 and serve to open the switch, and the rear electro-magnetsE shown in Fig. 7 are fixedly arran ed in a corresponding rigid frameoutside of the rails. When the current is shown through one frontelectro-magnet and one rear electro-magnet, on the same side of the car,it will be seen that the front electromagnet opens the switch and therear one closes it in the manner heretofore described.

In making use of our invention we do not confine ourselves to theparticular construction and arrangement of parts shown and described, asthese may be varied in many respects without departing from the scope ofour invention as set forth in the claims.

We claim 1. A switch operating mechanism, consisting of a car,electro-mechanical devices carried on the front end of the car forswinging the switch tongue in one direction to open it,electro-mechanical devices carried on the rear end of the car forswinging the switch tongue in the other direction to close it, and acircuit closer for throwing an electric current through theelectro-magnets of both said devices.

2. A switch operating mechanism, consisting of a car, twoelectro-magnets suspended beneath the car at its front and back endsrespectively and made adjustable transversely to the car and rails,means for adj usting these electro-magnets simultaneously in oppositedirections and means for throwing an electric current through the same.

3. A switch operating mechanism, consisting of a car, twoelectro-magnets suspended beneath the car at its front and back endsrespectively and made adjustable transversely to the car and rails,mechanical means for connecting the two electro-magnets, means for themanual operation of the two electromagnets in opposite directions andmeans for throwing an electric current through said electromagnets.

4. A switch operating mechanism, consisting of a car, twoelectro-magnets suspended beneath the car at its front and back endsreing of a car, two electro-1nagnets suspended spectively and madeadjustable transversely to the car and rails, means for adjusting theseelectro-magnets simultaneously in opposite directions and means forthrowing an electric current through the same by the same movement whichadjusts the electromagnets transversely.

5. A switch operating mechanism, consistbeneath. the car at its frontand back ends respectively and made adjustable transversely to the carsand rails, mechanical means for connecting the two electro-magnets,means for the manual operation of the two electromagnets in oppositedirections and means for throwing an electric current through saidelectro-magnets by the same movement which adjusts the electro-magnets,transversely.

6. A car having two reversely moving electro-magnets extending down toclose proximity to the rails, means for moving them transversely to thecar and means for connecting them for simultaneous movement in oppositedirections to successively open and c ose a switch tongue 7 A car havingtwo reversely moving electro-magnets extending down to close proximityto the rails, means for moving them transversely to the car, means forconnecting them for simultaneous movement in opposite directions tosuccessively open and close a switch tongue, and an electric circuitcloser arranged to close a circuit through the elecl tro-1nagnets whenmoved to thelr extreme posltions.

8. The combination with the track rails;

of a laterally adjustable switch tongue hav ing a cross piece attachedto it and moving with it and extending under the rails and a switchoperating device carried by the car and comprising a superposedelectro-magnet arranged to act upon the switch tongue and shift itlaterally by magnetic attraction.

9-. A switch operating mechanism, consisting of a car, twoelectro-magnets suspended beneath the car at its front and back endsrespectively, hanger bars carrying the same and hinged to the car toswing transversely, a longitudinally sliding rod with connections at itsopposite ends for swinging the hanger bars, a vertical and manuallyoperated shaft connected at its lower end to the hanger bars andconnecting slide rod and having an operating handle at its upper end.

- 10. A switch operating mechanism, consisting of a car, twoelectro-magnets suspended beneath the car at its front and back endsrespectively, hanger bars carrying the same and hinged to the car toswing transversely, a longitudinally sliding rod with connections at itsopposite ends for swinging the hanger bars, a vertical and manuallyoperated shaft connected at its lower end to thehanger bars andconnecting slide rod and having an operating handle at its u per end,and an electric circuit closer under lih ally operated shaft.

FRANCIS M. RICE. ARTHUR W. HILL.

Witnesses:

G. H. RICHARDSON, B. MENNENGE.

e control of said manu-

